HMS Fellowship Program in Transfusion Medicine - Participating Faculty

Sunny Dzik, M.D.
Associate Professor of Pathology
Co-Director, Blood Transfusion Service
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston

Contact information
Blood Transfusion Service, J-224
Massachusetts General Hospital
55 Fruit Street
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 617-726-3715

Education
M.D. (Medicine), 1977, University of Pennsylvania
Hematology, 1981, Boston University Medical Center
National Institutes of Health (Transfusion Medicine), 1983, Bethesda, MD

Research Interests
My primary research interests center on the clinical use of blood components.

Previously, I focused on effects of recipient exposure to transfused donor leukocytes, identifying changes which occur in donor leukocytes during blood storage prior to transfusion, the mechanism by which donor leukocytes may be depleted from blood components, and the effect of donor leukocytes on recipients. I was the principal investigator on the pivotal randomized clinical trial of leukocyte reduction technology.

My current clinical interest focuses on transfusion support of patients with coagulation disorders. I currently serve as Vice-Chair of the NHLBI Clinical Trials Network in Transfusion Medicine and Hemostasis.

In addition to clinical trials on blood usage, I have tried to bring greater national attention to the non-infectious hazards of transfusion. I was the principal investigator on a recently completed international study of transfusion hazards. Currently, I am developing with colleagues the use of radio-frequency identification technology to enhance transfuse safety.